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Darling Ranch. It was a family name in this town, a family business and a family way of life.
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We both grew quiet as we looked out over the farmland. I’d help my friend, he knew it. I owed him after everything he’d done for me. There wasn’t much more to say. Gabe knew I’d been struggling. That was why he’d been here daily since Ella had passed—to check on me. He may not know that I noticed, but I did. I couldn’t get mad either. He was being a friend. The friend I needed.
“Are you going to be okay?” he questioned.
“What do you mean?”
“If I leave, are you going to be okay?”
I leaned back in my chair and nodded. “Do I have any other choice? She’s been gone for over a year. It’s time that I pick up the pieces and move on. I know you’re worried. It’s written all over your face, but I’ll be fine.”
“I know. I just feel like I’m abandoning you in your time of need. It’s just…”
“It’s just you have to do this for you. I get it, Gabe, I really do. Why do you think I do nothing but work? It’s my way of coping. This is yours.”
“I just wish your way of coping had changed.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, emptying my beer.
“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps you could cope by, getting involved with a woman. A relationship may do you good.”
I looked off into the distance. “Nah, I don’t think so,” I muttered, getting up and returning with two more beers. The last thing I needed right now was to have a conversation about my personal life. Gabe should know better than to start on me about dating again.
“Sorry man, I just thought that it may help you cope with things.”
I passed him another beer and sat back down. “Now I’ll do what I can to help you out, but you say you are trying to figure something else out? Care to shed a little light on that subject?” I asked.
“I’m heading out to see Cadence, to see if I can convince her to return home. If she does, I know she’ll need help. Our farm is twice the size of our grandparents’.”
First, he started with my personal life and then he mentioned Cadence in the same sentence. He better not be thinking what I thought he was. I took another mouthful of beer and cleared my throat.
“You aren’t suggesting that Cadence and I…”
Gabe shrugged and sort of smirked as he tipped the bottle back.
There had been a time that I’d had a crush on her, but she gave no hints. Then Gabe made it very clear to me and some other guys at school she was off-limits. In fact, I remembered him muttering something about the bro code after he gave another kid in town a black eye for hitting on his sister. After that, I knew better than to think about touching his sister, as did every guy in town. I enjoyed having my balls intact. Since I hadn’t been willing to ruin our friendship, I pushed my feelings to the back of my mind and gotten involved with her friend Ella.
“Cadence, from what I remember, can look after herself,” I muttered. “She’s looked after your grandparents’ farm just fine with no help from anyone. She doesn’t need my help.”
“Yeah, but it’s different here. More moving parts, bigger operation, and I’d just feel better knowing that I can count on the only man I trust here to be there if she needs something,” Gabe said, looking at me.
I chuckled.
“Please, Connor.”
I hated seeing my friend beg, but at least he was begging me and not some woman who would only slap him across the face when he got close enough. I drank back the rest of my beer and nodded my head.
“Fine. Let me know once you figure it all out. I’ll help her for a bit, but once Cadence is all settled in and things are going well, I’m done.”
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Book 1: Memories of the Past
Book 2: The Holiday Dilemma
Book 3: Letters from the Heart
*Please note all books can be read as standalone, but recommended you read all the books in the series.*
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